Rough, chilly waves capsize a 16-foot fishing boat off Citrus County. The survivors are found clinging to the vessel.
By JORGE SANCHEZ
Published February 3, 2004
CRYSTAL RIVER - Two men who clung to their capsized boat for 15 hours in 56-degree waters were rescued from the Gulf of Mexico early Monday in an ordeal that took the life of a third man.
The three men were on a fishing trip aboard a 16-foot Carolina Skiff when the boat capsized about 11 a.m. Sunday in rough seas west of the Florida Progress energy complex, the U.S. Coast Guard said.
Edward Calcagni Jr., 34, and Larry Dates, 30, were rescued at 2 a.m. Monday. Both are from the Citrus County town of Hernando, north of Inverness.
A Coast Guard helicopter, which had been searching for the men since 8 p.m. Sunday, discovered them clinging to their capsized boat. The rescuers relayed the boat's position to a Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission boat, which picked up the men.
The body of Edward Calcagni, 71, a longtime body builder and personal trainer from the central Citrus town of Beverly Hills, was located about 4 a.m. Monday by the crew of an HH-60 Jayhawk helicopter from the Coast Guard Air Station in Clearwater.
His body was on the north side of the power plant channel. Calcagni was a former trainer and manager of the Black Diamond Fitness Center in central Citrus, which is part of the exclusive Black Diamond residential development known for its top-rated golf course. A staffer at the center said Calcagni was instrumental in opening the fitness center about five years ago.
A month ago, Calcagni resigned and returned to Dynabody fitness center in Inverness, where he worked as a trainer when it was known as the Citrus Health Club in the 1980s.
"I just saw him last week," said Rick Jarvis, owner of Dynabody. "He was a great guy, and in great physical condition for a man in his 70s."
Another friend, Mary Napolitano, said she knew the elder Calcagni from Black Diamond, where he was her boss.
"I just saw him Thursday, and it's hard to believe," she said. "He was in great shape and swam every day."
Napolitano said the younger Calcagni owns the Wholesale Sleep Center on County Road 486 in the Citrus County town of Hernando, and that Larry Dates is the nephew of the elder Calcagni.
Conservation Commission dispatch records show that the two survivors initially were taken to Seven Rivers Regional Medical Center, but no information on their conditions was available.
A Coast Guard spokeswoman, Petty Officer Danielle DeMarino, said the three men weren't wearing life jackets. The elder Calcagni was last seen by the survivors drifting north of the boat and holding a throwable floatation device, but not wearing a life jacket.
His body was taken to the Medical Examiner's Office for an autopsy, according to the Coast Guard.
By gulf standards, conditions were rough Sunday: 4- to 6-foot waves, 15-knot winds, 56-degree water and limited visibility because of fog.
"It was definitely an extended period of time that they were in the water," DeMarino said. "They are lucky to be alive.".
The men were reported overdue by the elder Calcagni's wife, Joanne, after they failed to return in time for the Super Bowl kickoff.
By then, the men already had been in the water about seven hours.
The Coast Guard started the search at 8 p.m. with assistance from the Conservation Commission. Two aircraft and three boats conducted the search.
"The search was hampered by the fact that they didn't file a float plan," DeMarino said. A float plan outlines of boaters' intended routes and locations. The survivors told authorities the weather became so rough that the boat started taking on water as the waves broke across it, then capsized, said Karen Parker, public information officer for the conservation commission.
She said the survivors were taken to the boat ramp at Yankeetown, where they were taken by ambulance to the hospital. They did not have serious injuries, according to the Coast Guard.
"This is a tragedy, but it also reinforces the need for everyone to follow safe boating rules, such as wearing a life preserver and filing a float plan," DeMarino said.
